Nisei

David Yoshimura opened Nisei in August 2021 in the former La Folie space on Polk Street in Russian Hill, after a pandemic stretch of jewel-like bento boxes from Mister Jiu’s Ho Ho General Store. The name is the Japanese American term for second-generation children of immigrants; Yoshimura, raised in Houston by a Japanese immigrant father and a Jewish mother, built the restaurant as a personal Japanese-American kitchen rather than a replica of Tokyo fine dining. He trained at the Culinary Institute of America, cooked at wd~50 in New York, staged in Japan (including Kagurazaka Ishikawa) and Spain, then came into his own as chef de cuisine at Val Cantu’s Californios. Within the first year Michelin awarded one star and California’s Young Chef Award; the restaurant has kept a Michelin star in subsequent California guides, including coverage tied to the 2026 list. Confirm the live Guide page if you need a hard year claim. Sister bar Iris sits next door for Japanese-influenced cocktails before or after dinner.

The format is a prepaid seasonal tasting menu, not an Edomae nigiri parade or an izakaya share board. Courses move with Northern California farms and fisheries: washoku memory filtered through California ingredients and fine-dining technique. Michelin inspector notes have pointed to dishes such as a buckwheat potato tartlet with date miso, nori maki with silken tofu and trout roe, Santa Barbara uni in almond dashi with seaweed ice cream, and omurice under a Japanese omelet with caviar. Diners and local write-ups also talk about potato croquettes, Dungeness andagi, and a wagashi cart at the close. Master Sommelier Andrey Ivanov runs wine and sake pairings; non-alcoholic pairings show up in diner notes as a serious option. Prices sit in special-occasion territory and climb with pairings and service; check the current menu page before you book.

What it is not: a casual sushi bar, a Japantown izakaya night, or a traditional kaiseki room imported wholesale from Japan. Come when you want a composed Japanese-American tasting menu and can commit to the full progression. Pair it with Rintaro when you want Mission charcoal yakitori and udon without the tasting-menu price, or Sushi Yoshizumi when you want Peninsula Edomae nigiri focus instead of Polk Street invention.

Public Yelp, Google, and forum threads treat Nisei as a special-occasion hit: precise plating, warm service, chef engagement at the counter, and courses that feel personal rather than generic “modern Japanese.” Praise clusters around standout savory bites (omurice, uni, croquettes or andagi when they appear), the beverage program, and the wagashi finish. Infatuation-style notes about a spare black dining room that puts the food first show up in diner language too.

The same reviews warn about the check (tasting menu plus pairings and service), prepaid OpenTable rules, seasonal menus that disappoint anyone hunting a fixed signature forever, and a format that will bore diners who only want sushi. A minority call individual courses precious or uneven. Diners who like it usually want Japanese-American fine dining with California produce, not a casual Polk Street weeknight or a pure nigiri omakase.